


Even Better Than The Real Thing

by platinumfail



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Prom, Tiny Angst, fem!Nitori, fem!nitorin, fem!rintori, nitorin - Freeform, not in the butt, prom in the dorms, rintori - Freeform, what what
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 02:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1802134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platinumfail/pseuds/platinumfail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Iwatobi High’s prom coming up on Saturday, Gou cannot stop gushing about it with her best friend, Aiichiro Nitori. As the only female at an all boys school, Nitori realizes that she’ll never have a prom night or be able to slow dance with someone while in high school. that is, until Rin finds out. </p><p>A fem!Nitori/Rin prompt request from tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even Better Than The Real Thing

**Author's Note:**

> The summary is pretty self-explanatory, so here goes!
> 
> Enjoy lovelies!  
> <3,  
> Kayla

There are obligations that a best friend has to follow. If your best friend looks like she got dressed in the dark, you tell her. If your best friend got her hair dyed a horrendous color, you tell her. If your best friend was dating a dude that cheats, you tell her. It's basically best friend code, and Aiichiro Nitori knew it. Gou Matsuoka, the younger sister of Rin Matsuoka, was Ai's best friend. They met at the beginning of the school year, when Gou and her were entering as first years in their respective high schools. Ai was the only female student at Samezuka Academy due to an application error, as Gou was a regular student at Iwatobi High. Ai was Rin's roommate, and he absolutely detested the girl at first.

            When Rin would sometimes come home on the weekends, he'd rant about how Ai worried so much and followed him around like some "damn lost puppy." Gou wanted to meet the guy that made her brother so riled up, and was surprised when she found out this "Aiichiro" was a _girl_. Not a _guy_. Gou almost jumped for joy — finally, another girl with a boyish name. The two girls hit it off, and became inseparable from the start. They'd go shopping together, giggle about boys together, and run to hug each other at swim meets, even though Rin would try to yank Ai back by the straps of her racer swimsuit so that she wouldn't be seen hugging the manager of the opposing team.

            Ai would go to spend the night at the Matsuoka residence, which originally made Rin steam with annoyance. He couldn't even go home to get away from the damn girl. He'd especially want to jump out a second story window onto concrete when he would hear Ai and his sister loudly giggle and whisper about boys and their bodies. Rin noticed that Ai never talked about swimmer's bodies as much as Gou did, and he was somewhat relieved about that. At the time, he didn't know why, of course.

            Eventually, the lavender haired first year grew on Rin, and they became as inseparable as Ai and Gou were, which explains why Rin is running a long hand through his burgundy hair as Gou and Ai giggle about how some prom dresses looked absolutely ridiculous.

            Rin could not believe that he agreed to go with Ai to assist his baby sister in prom dress shopping. Rin was already bristled up over the fact that Gou was taking the Samezuka swim captain, Seijuro Mikoshiba, to her damn prom. Seijuro offered to go on the shopping extravaganza, but Gou outright refused, since she wanted to surprise the handsome third year with her dress. Ai went along to help her best friend pick a nice fitting dress, and Rin just didn't want his _little_ Nitori standing outside the dressing rooms alone waiting for his baby sister to finally step out and show off what she put on.

            Ai pulled a bright orange dress off of a rack and held back her snickers, pushing it out to Gou. Gou raised a burgundy eyebrow and Ai burst out laughing.

            "It matches Mikoshiba-Senpai's hair." Ai wheezed, doubling over.

            Gou threw her head back and laughed as Rin rolled his eyes, leaning against the dress rack, wanting to desperately go back with Ai to their shared dorm where they could cuddle on his bunk and not have to worry about a stupid dance. Rin was very relieved that Samezuka didn't offer any dances or a prom. It didn't make sense, after all. An all boys school that was regarded as the best swimming school in the country didn't have time for proms, nor had the money for it. More than half of Samezuka's funding goes towards pool supplies and long trips to competitions, not frilly little dances.

            "It doesn't match it _that_ much!" Gou whined, putting the dress back on the rack.

            "It does a little bit." Ai smirked, putting her hands on her slim hips.

            The girls trailed around the store, Ai holding all of Gou's potential dresses in her slim arms, nearly buckling over when Gou stacked on another three dresses. Rin let out an exasperated sigh and glared at his baby sister.

            "Gou. Stop piling stuff up on Ai and go try on your clothes." Rin spat, causing Gou to turn around and glare, her hands on her hips.

            "You didn't have to come, Rin." Gou retorted, turning her back and heading over to the next dress rack.

            "Yeah, but—"

            "Matsuoka-Senpai, I'm fine. Really." Ai whispered, looking up at him with adoring cornflower blue eyes, happy that he even noticed how she was struggling with the pounds of dresses that were on her arms.

            Rin carefully pulled a few dresses out of Ai's arms and held them as he laid a tiny kiss on her forehead, causing Ai to let out a small breathless giggle before Gou turned around.

            "We have less than 12 hours until the prom, and I still haven't found a perfect dress!" She exclaimed, beginning to worry.

            Ai perked up and quickly caught up to her best friend, pointing out several dresses that Gou was impressed with, finally taking their pounds upon pounds of dresses to the large dressing room. Rin waited outside of the dressing room as Ai went into the room with Gou to help her zip up her dresses and tie them. Rin played with his hands as he waited, nearly dozing off when Gou pranced out of the dressing room and tapped her older brother on the shoulder.

            "I found my dress!" Gou exclaimed, showing it off to Rin.

            The dress was long and a solid dark green, already put in a dress bag and checked out. Rin nodded and showed signs of approval, thanking God that Gou didn't go with a short dress like some girls were doing at the Iwatobi prom. Rin looked at his sister when he noticed Ai was missing.

            "Where's Ai?" Rin interrogated, starting to worry.

            Gou nearly cracked up. It was hilarious to see Rin worry so much, when he had originally chastised Ai for being the worrywart. Gou waved her brother off and sighed.

            "I made her try on a dress."  Gou chimed, shrugging her shoulders.

            Rin groaned loudly, frustrated that the shopping day wasn't even remotely finished yet. He tapped his foot impatiently and then checked the dressing room to see that Ai was the only person in there. He glared at Gou and began to sneak his way into the dressing room.

            "Rin! What are you doing?!" Gou hissed, her burgundy eyes looking to make sure that a sales clerk didn't just see a teenage male waltz into a female dressing room.

            "Shh. I'm getting Ai, shut up and sit down." Rin commanded.

            "You can't! What if she's naked?!" Gou exclaimed in a loud whisper, shaking her head.

            "You act like she's never been naked in front of me before!" Rin exclaimed, quickly finding Ai's room and quickly sliding into it and shutting the door behind him.

            Gou was too flustered to say anything. Her brother and best friend? Gou knew they were dating, but...her best friend...and brother...were...sexually active? She had to sit down to suppress her dizzy feeling, now wanting to go home more than ever.  

            Ai let out a gasp of surprise as she stood against the pale pink wall, relieved that it was just Rin who barged in. She cleared her throat and stared at him as he froze in place. She had a long pale blue dress on, in which she was zipping down before Rin rudely interrupted. She quickly zipped it back up out of awkwardness, blinking slowly.

            "I'm sorry I took so long, Matsuoka-Senpai." Ai breathed, shaking her head.

            Rin stared for a few more seconds before looking away and clearing his throat, his arms crossed over his chest. His burgundy eyes traced every small curve Ai had, and he found himself letting out a content sigh when seeing how well the pale blue dress hugged her chest, making it seem as if she wasn't already a AA cup. He quickly snapped out of it and watched Ai zip the dress down, stepping out of it, grabbing her t-shirt. She bit her lip and pulled it on, really wishing she didn't try the dress on.

            Ai was already feeling kind of down over the fact that she would never go to a prom. She wouldn't be able to pull out photos of her and her date at prom to her children like most mothers could. She wouldn't be able to slow dance with the man who made her heart skip beats. She wouldn't be able to dress up for the hell of it and feel the most beautiful she would ever feel. She scratched at her arms before grabbing her athletic shorts and yanking them up, finally putting on her swim jacket. Rin ran a hand through his hair and walked with Ai out of the dressing room, but not before getting nasty looks from women walking in.

            "Finally!" Gou exclaimed, letting out a dramatic sigh as she walked out of the mall with her dress in hand.

            Ai awkwardly looked at Gou and bit her lip, keeping to herself. Rin raised an eyebrow at his loving kohai's behavior, but decided not to question it. She was probably not feeling well, since Gou's been keeping her up for the past week. Prom was in less than 12 hours now, and Rin knew there was no way Ai was going to get any sleep while his baby sister was around.

            That night, Rin had just finished brushing his teeth when he saw Ai walk back into the dorm, just seconds before curfew. Rin didn't have to question where Ai was. She was attached to Gou's side, probably with a mixture of stiff hairspray and nail glue.  Iwatobi's prom was officially starting now as Rin looked at the clock, putting his toothbrush back in the cup. He stretched and grabbed a clean tank top to put on, water still clinging to his chest since he just jumped out of the shower. Ai blinked lethargically and felt her lip begin to wriggle.

            She tried to climb up to her bunk before crying, but she broke down the moment she grabbed the metal bars. She let out a loud sob, not even trying to choke it back. She glared at the ground as tears fell, grimacing as she picked at the nail glue left over on the tip of her pointer finger since she helped Gou put on fake french tip nails for the dance of the year. Rin's eyes widened as he quickly yanked the tank top on, getting to Ai's side and slowly making her look up at him. He tilted his head, red eyes full of concern.       

            "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He whispered, putting a hand in her lavender locks.

            "N-nothing..."

            "You don't cry over nothing, Ai. I know you better than that." Rin chided, shaking his head.

            Rin yanked Ai by her hand to his bed, making her sit down next to him as he watched her settle on the mattress, looking up at the bunk above her. She desperately wanted to crawl into her bunk and hide under the comforter, but knew it was no use with her boyfriend around.

            "I-it's...just..." Ai swallowed, "It's just that...going to an all-boys school means I don't get to...um..." Ai trailed, wiping her eyes before a new wave of fresh tears appeared.

            "You don't get to...?" Rin encouraged, putting his soft thin lips on her forehead, rocking her back and forth.

            "I don't get to have a prom like Gou..." She cried, turning her head into Rin's shoulder, embracing him tightly.

            Rin nearly fell backwards with the hard impact, rubbing her back. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. It all made sense. Ai didn't look happy when she tried on the dress. Ai didn't look happy while toting Gou's dresses around. Ai didn't look happy as she set out to help Gou with her makeup and hair. Rin ran a hand through his hair and quickly planted a kiss on the girl's exposed cheek, nuzzling with his nose. Ai sniffled.

            "Ai..." Rin breathed, pulling her closer.

            "I'm sorry, Matsuoka-Senpai..." Ai lingered, pulling her red face out of his jacket, tears still lethargically sliding down her pale cheeks.

            "Don't be. You helped out Gou so much...she...and I...didn't know that it was taking a lot out of you." Rin sighed, regretful.

            "I love going to school here...I like being around you guys. It's just that...y'know, I never get to do things that other girls at other schools get to do, like go to prom." Ai sighed, wiping her face with her swim jacket sleeves, curling up into Rin's side.

            "What makes the prom so appealing to you?" Rin questioned, curious as to why Ai was so bent out of shape about a stupid activity that makes people blow a ton of money on a dress and receive blisters from annoying high heels the next morning.

            "Well...it's something you get to share with someone you like, I guess." Ai breathed, sniffling quietly as she looked over at Rin. "Like, you get to slow dance with someone you really like...and take pictures with them, and get to show your kids when you have them." Ai offered, clearing her throat. "It does sound kind of stupid..."

            "No it doesn't." Rin blurted, clamping his mouth shut.

            Ai looked at her boyfriend, puzzled. She half expected Rin to just shrug it off and tell her that you can't always get what you want, or to stop crying over something so stupid. She bit her lip and cleared her throat awkwardly.

            "It's not stupid...it makes sense." Rin reasoned, letting out a sigh. "It's...actually kind of cute. Your reason, I mean." Rin offered, scratching the back of his neck, his cheeks turning the slightest twinge of pink.

            "Y-you really think so?" Ai stammered, a bit taken aback.

            "Yeah..." Rin grumbled, clearing his throat.

            Ai and Rin sat on the mattress for a while, staring at the blank walls in their room. Ai pulled her knees up to her chest and let out a relieved sigh, happy that Rin understood. She still had the defeated and lumpy feeling in her chest from earlier concerning her lack of a prom. All she wanted to do was to just go out for one night wearing a nice dress and slow dance to one song. She was about to crawl off the mattress when Rin caught his girlfriend in his arms and pulled her up to stand, kissing her forehead.

            "Ai..." He breathed into her ear, pulling her closer.

            Ai nuzzled into Rin's neck, holding back a content sigh. He wrapped his arms around her waist and positioned her arms around his neck, making her pull her face out to stare into his eyes. He smirked and kissed her cheek.

            "I know that we don't have any music...or a lot of room...and you don't have a dress and I don't have a suit, _but_..." Rin put his lips next to Ai's ear, "we're in our dorm room and we don't have to worry about a curfew...we can make our own prom." He smirked, kissing her lightly.

            Ai's heart nearly thudded out of her chest, her hearing filling up with the sound of her blood rushing. She dipped her head to look down at their wooden floor and let out the most breathless laugh. She looked back up into Rin's burgundy eyes and sighed, kissing the corner of his lips lovingly.

            "So...we can slow dance?" Ai whispered, raising a grey-lavender eyebrow.

            "Yup." Rin sighed, making his grip tighter around his girlfriend's hips.

            Ai tilted her head and ducked her face back into his shoulder, blushing harder. Rin let out a snicker and pulled Ai out of his shoulder, making her look at him once again.

            "You can't slow dance with your face in someone's shoulder." Rin chided, rolling his eyes.

            "How do you know?"

            "I've slow danced before." Rin retorted to his girlfriend, sticking his nose up into the air.

            "When?!" Ai exclaimed excitedly, curious.

            Rin bit his lip and grumbled as he started to sway with Ai, rolling his eyes once more. He let out a defeated sigh and groaned.

            "With my grandma. I was 8, okay?" Rin mumbled, putting his nose into Ai's sweet smelling hair.

            "Am I a better dancer than your grandma?" Ai snickered, kissing her boyfriend on the tip of his nose.

            "No." Rin teased, nipping her lip with his teeth, causing Ai to let out a squeak.

            "How mean." Ai pouted, pulling herself even closer to Rin before kissing him deeply on the lips, their swaying soon pausing.

            "Thank you, Matsuoka-Senpai..." Ai whispered into her boyfriend's shoulder, her cornflower blue eyes meeting his burgundy.

            Rin nodded into his kohai's hair, feeling her slowly dozing off on his shoulder. He looked down at her peaceful face and laid her down on his bunk before tucking her in and rolling in next to her. Although this whole prom thing was a sticky mess, Rin was grateful that Ai went to an all boys boarding school. Rin allowed Ai to curl up next to him before shutting his eyes.

            However, Rin was far from sleep as he tried to think of several questions to shoot at Mikoshiba the next morning about prom night. Rin was for sure going to get his _sweet revenge_ on the swim captain for taking Gou to the prom.  


End file.
